CW lasing in a collisional helium-europium laser

CW collisional lasing in the near-IR (1.0019 micron) with an ionized europium laser is reported. The laser had a BeO ceramic tube with an i.d. of 1.5 mm and a 28 cm length. Smooth, RF and CW RF pulses were tested with He as the medium. Lasing occurred in both pulsed and CW modes due to a very short relaxation time for low-lying metastable levels, a 3 x 10 to the 14th/cm electron density, and 10 percent of the ions at working levels. The power density was 2 kW/cu cm. Further studies are planned with electron and ion beam pumps.